My previous For One meals proved to be a bit messy and dirtied a lot of dishes for just one person, so now it’s my goal to streamline the cooking process and make as less a mess as possible. Just a wee bit of thought and planning makes all the difference! Plus, notice how the left over ingredients from a previous meal carry over to make an entirely new one.

[1 pot & 1 Colander]Boil the pasta of your choice according to package directions and set aside. Rinse the pot and use it for a side of peas or green beans if you like. Also, rinse the colander as you’ll need it shortly.

[1 Large Mixing Bowl]In a large mixing bowl, add the egg and beat it well.

Now add the pork and bread crumbs. You can just eyeball the breadcrumbs to save yourself dirtying up a measuring cup! Mix well with your hands and then form into small meatballs, about 1/2” in diameter. As you make a meatball, put it on a disposable paper/Styrofoam plate. To make the meatballs, just pinch a bit off with your left hand, then roll vigorously between both hands to make a ball.

[1 Cutting Board, 1 Chef’s Knife, & The Mixing Bowl]Once all the meatballs are on the disposable plate, rinse the mixing bowl. Next chop and slice your onions and mushrooms and put them in that mixing bowl. Now coat the mushrooms and onions with the Olive Oil and some Salt & Pepper. Mix well and let sit.

[1 Skillet & the Colander]In a large skillet, brown the meatballs on all sides. It’s best to use a skillet with a lid. Add the meatballs, cover the skillet, and then give it a whirl or shake every so often to brown on all sides. About 5-6 minutes.

Drain the meatballs into a colander, then wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. Put the skillet back on the heat and add the mushroom and onions. Sauté over medium-high heat till fragrant and just softening, about 6 minutes. Next add the garlic and sauté for another 1-2 minutes.

Now add the wine/chicken stock (just eyeball it straight from the bottle), the can of tomato sauce, and several “dashes” of Italian Seasoning straight from the container. If you like, add a dash of Cilantro as well! Stir to mix it all together. If the sauce is too thin for your liking, then add some Tomato Paste to thicken it up - I didn’t this time. In fact, you really don’t need to, just crack the lid (set it ajar on the skillet) and let it simmer. Evaporation will thicken your sauce for you!

[1 Serving Plate]Bring the sauce to a boil, then add the meatballs. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Serve over the spaghetti noodles.

Sides

I added garlic bread rollups and peas with this. The rollups were done on the cutting board and baked in the toaster oven on it’s cooking sheet. Toaster ovens are great, heat fast, don’t heat the kitchen up, and only use 110V as opposed to 220V of a large oven, so less electricity!.

The peas were cooked in the same pot as the noodles - after the noodles were done, I rinsed the pot and then cooked the peas. There is plenty of time to make sides as the sauce and meatballs are simmering! For canned sides like beans, consider using your microwave and Tupperware to save a step!

You can make the spaghetti noodles well in advance and keep in a covered container on the counter. When ready to serve, just put them in a colander and run hot water over them to heat them back up. That, and the heat of the sauce is enough!

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__________________Happiness can only be found by concentrating on what you have instead of what you haven’t.